So I have permission to ride Bailey as much as I want whenever, which is great. He's very much a "horses-horse", he knows all the english stuff but he isn't finessed in any of it, you can jump him and feel safe and he knows what he is doing, but he just isn't like a show horse or anything fancy.

If I just ride him without stirrups all the time, is there anyway that could be detrimental to my riding? I am looking for a show quality horse to lease, but as for Bailey I am just riding him because I like to ride and my friend needs someone to help her give him enough exercise.

I know stirrupless riding is really good, but I just want to know if its possible I could mess something up by doing it too much.

Stirrupless riding is very good, but there are some detrimental effects that can happen. Often a rider may start to grip with their thigh and knee to stay on, thus turning the toe out. You really need to concentrate on sitting on your seat bones when riding with no stirrups, and releasing your upper leg ;)

Just be careful at the trot. Its very bouncy. Though Im doing no stirrup work at trot to improve my seat, this is a safety issue you should think about so that you do not bounce right off: Losts of beginners sink their weight into their heels. This is certianly not bad, but it means you are dependant on stirrups. Learn to be less dependant, then go stirrup free. Once you trot without stirrups, slow to a walk if you have steering problems, I have those lots.

Riding with no stirrups is a good thing if you know how to do it correctly. You can't grip with her knees or calves, despite your natural relax to do so. You have to let you legs just hang limp and balance using your seat. It should be like straddling a bench; there's nothing underneath you but air --nothing to grip--, so you just sit and stay centered. It's tough!

Also, if you want to do a lot of no stirrup work at the trot --sitting, learning to post without stirrups...--, check your horse's back after rides. For the first few days of practice, you'll be bouncing around an awful lot. I ride gaited horses bareback sometimes. To sit a gait, you have to lighten your seat and lean back into the motion (which seems almost oxymoronic; it's hard to explain) . This is actually pretty hard without stirrups when you have your horse going at a fast rack or running walk. One of my mares came up sore after I rode her without stirrups too long at a rack. Same thing can happen at a trot, so practice lightly!

At our stable the kids do every other lesson with no stirrups, including cantering and even jumping. So far I have never seen any bad effects, and a lot of them do very well in shows, do well at pony finals, etc etc. They have so many ribbons that their overflows go into our lobby...and when they have an overflow of grand champion, champion, and reserve champion that they would leave it at the stable lobby...you know they get a ton all the time.

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